Nuffer

Christina Wanner, the mother in this picture from 1910, is the sister to my Johann Georg (John George) Wanner Jr. I previously posted a family portrait for Christina’s sister, Maria Magdalena Wanner Wagstaff. At some point, I will write my Great Great Grandfather, John, but until then, I will keep writing on some of the peripheral lines.

Charles August Nuffer, the father in the photo, is the brother to my Regina Friederike Nuffer. A brother a sister with the last name of Nuffer married a sister and brother with the last name of Wanner. Two other Wanner sisters married another set of brothers with the last name of Bodrero. Anyhow, the children in the above photo are all double cousins to me. Can you smell the consanguinity in the Wanner family?

Charles August Nuffer was born 18 June 1871 in Neuffen, Esslingen, Baden-Württemberg to John Christoph Nuffer and Eva Katharina Greiner. His parents joined the LDS church on 12 April 1880 after following the example of their daughter, Regina who was baptized in January 1880. Charles actually joined 26 January 1894 in Mapleton, Franklin, Idaho (then Oneida County). He passed away 17 July 1952 in Preston, Franklin, Idaho and buried beside his wife 4 days later in the Preston Cemetery. If you are interested, here is his autobiography.

Christina Wanner was born 30 March 1872 in Holzgerlingen, Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg to Johann Georg Wanner Sr and Anna Maria Schmid. Her whole family joined the LDS church in 1891 (she 16 October 1891) and immigrated to the US in 1892 settling in Logan, Cache, Utah. She died 10 August 1940 in Preston and was buried 4 days later. Her daughter Louise, wrote a biography about her.

Charles and Christina were married 1 February 1894 in the Logan LDS Temple by Marriner Wood Merrill. Note, this is 5 days after his baptism! To this marriage was born 9 children. The first 7 were born in Mapleton and the rest were in Preston.

Clara Katherine Nuffer born 10 August 1895, died 18 August 1984. Married John Leroy Hansen 30 October 1918.

Louise Mary Nuffer born 19 November 1896, died 16 October 1980. Married LeRoy McDonald Roberts 17 November 1944.

Anna Christina Nuffer born 8 January 1899, died 25 January 1928. Married Elmer Willis Cummings 23 April 1919.

Bertha Wilamena Nuffer born 9 June 1900, died 9 November 1990. Married Alfred Dean Winn 9 February 1921.

Charles Fredrick Nuffer born 21 October 1901, died 30 June 1970. Married Ruth Gamble 4 October 1922.

Joseph Adolph Nuffer born 18 May 1904, died 27 June 1985. Married Greta Susan Alder 20 July 1927.

Ida Eva Nuffer born 15 June 1906, died 1 December 2000. Married Gilbert Warren Stater Cafferty 24 February 1926.

Preston Albert Nuffer born 13 June 1908, died 20 July 1995. Married Ella May Day 24 June 1936.

Laura Elvina Nuffer born 15 February 1910, died 21 December 1994. Married Hilden Jack Alvord 12 April 1929.

I am happy to correct or add information to this family if you have information.

We are writing todaz from Salzburg, Austria. We arrived last night about midnight.

Zesterdaz was spent traveling to familz historz sites for mz Wanner and Nuffer familz near Stuttgart. We visited Holzgerlingen and Neuffen, the towns where thez lived in for several centuries. Neuffen was well worth the trip. Holzgerlingen turned out to be a bit of a dissapointment as there wasn’t much of anzthing old left.

On Sundaz we went in to Munich and visited the little village of Dachau. There we spent a good portion of the daz in the Dachau Concentration Camp. It was interesting to finallz visit one. Dachau had built the ovens and gas showers for mass use, but fortunatelz thez were never used on a mass scale. Thez were used, but in a limited sense. It was interesting.

We maz have a chance to upload photos tonight. Depending on what this computer will allow us to have access to (meaning, will we be able to find the camera or jump drive in order to upload).

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We have uploaded all our pictures for the past few dazs! Go on over and take a peek! The photos from Brugge, Amsterdam, The Hague, Dresden, Meißen, Roßwein, and Leipzig are all now available. We are especiallz glad to have them online and saved at another location.

Todaz we said good-bze to our hostel in Dresden and made our waz to Augsburg. Since were so close to the Andra-Schneider familz area, we made a special trip to Roßwein where several generations of mz familz are from. Unfortunatelz the church was locked the whole time we were there, nobodz at town hall spoke English, and the cemeteries in Germanz do not keep the burial location for those whose familz do not paz for it. Other than having been there, I have nothing more.

We found our waz to Leipzig where we took a quick 1 hour whirlwind tour. We went to the church where Bach was organ master and also the church where his remains are presentlz located (the original church was destrozed in WWII).

We are now in Augsburg, Deutschland. We will be here for the next three dazs. Here we will make visits to Neuschwanstein, Munich, Dachau, Stuttgart, and other little towns with relatives on the Wanner and Nuffer families. I am definitelz looking forward to all. We will be traveling quite a bit on trains, but nothing we are not accustomed to zet!

Time keeps ticking by too quickly sometimes. I have so much to write but not as much time as I would like to do it in. Such is the limitations in the probationary game. There are plenty of achievements to report though in the past week or two.

This evening I spoke with Gerald Neuffer in Columbia, Missouri. In a most random turn of events, I noticed that a Jenna Neuffer became friends with my friend, Kami Lowe on Facebook. With a name as rare as Neuffer, I knew all odds were in my favor of having a near shared ancestry. I sent Miss Neuffer a message and asked for her Grandfather’s name and phone number. Which she supplied. Come to find out, I even had Gerald already in my family history. I just had his first name Myron (Gerald is his middle name but he goes by it. Probably due to remove confusion with his father’s name being Myron). He knew the Andra’s well and said he remembered Millie, who was just younger than him. Funny how small a world it is. He went to get his PhD and never left Columbia after moving there in 1947. We conversed for a little while he dug for information verifying I was not this total stranger calling for his family history for some other sinister reason. He sounds like a good guy. He asked if I was doing genealogy. I confirmed I was and that I was the family historian. He then happily related he was basically that for the Neuffer/Nuffer family. I was definitely glad to hear that. What is the chances of the Andra historian running into the Nuffer historian in Columbia Missouri? Very far removed from Preston, Idaho!

I received a phone call from Jacqui yesterday about the Phibbs/Ross/Beachell family. I tried returning her call and spoke with her mother for a few minutes. I am glad she finally returned my message. I only left it in May! That was before we moved!

In other news, there was an e-mail that found its way to me from Robert in Fresno, California. A most interesting question. He asked if I knew of any of the siblings of my Constance Jorgensen. I always felt Constance most likely had siblings but was never able to find any. Between her parents marriage and Constance’s birth, there is twelve years. I was sure there were other siblings. Olavus and Hanna Mathea Jorgensen immigrated with Constance and settled in Richmond, Utah. Constance married Ole Christiansen and gave birth to my Great Great Grandmother Martha Christiansen who is the mother of my Lillian Coley. Constance died in Portland, Oregon while visiting and was buried there. In the whole episode, I knew some day I would have to do some research in Norway to find the rest of this family. Well, Robert e-mailed me asking me if his grandmother, Amanda Jorgensen Swensen could be a child of Olavus and Hanna. He produced a copy of a hand written copy pedigree she had produced in 1935. Sure enough, everything lined up. Well, Amanda was born another 12 years after my Constance (24 after the marriage of the parents). She immigrated to Utah a good 10 years after her parents and sibling came over and settled in Logan, Utah. By the time she arrived her parents were both deceased and her sister had married. It seems that she never knew she was only 15 miles from her parent’s graves and her sister. The exciting news is that Amanda gave us the names of her siblings, none of which made it to America to her knowledge. We added the 5 siblings. Don’t know their ages, but definitely gives some more to go from. That will give us much more to go from when the time for the Norway research begins.

I am happy to report I completed the New Testament this evening. I am one day late. If I had read the one chapter a day, I would have finished yesterday. Last weekend put me just off enough that I did not catch up in time. I completed the Book of Mormon on schedule this year on August 27th. Now I can go through some General Conference talks and some other reading for the year. Next year is the Doctrine and Covenants which you can almost read three times in a year. I think I will just do it twice though.

The ward continues to blossom when it comes to family history. It seems like people are doing their homework, research, and compiling regularly. I have e-mails at least once or twice a week for help on something. That is an indication something is going on. That is definitely something which is a good thing.

Online the family history work continues to reveal new and interesting things. I received an e-mail from a Homer Mason. He was inquiring concerning the Jonas family in Washington State. Come to find out, Anna Jonas is his Grandmother. Anna was the daughter of William Jonas who was the brother to my Joseph Jonas; father to my great grandfather Joseph Nelson Jonas. He knows very little so it has been fun introducing him to the family. I have especially enjoyed his research on a line of the family I have not been able to crack. It has proved not to be an easy line for him, but with his living in Yakima, he is much closer and capable of doing the work than I can. I really hope I am accepted to the University of Idaho for Law School. Then I could work on the Jonas, Ross, and Sharp lines in Washington State.

Stepping back to the Andra family. This past weekend Amanda and I took a trip to Washington DC for our monthly temple visit. But a new aspect as emerged. My Great Uncle and Aunt, Donald and Lolane Andra, are now serving a mission in the temple. We went up Friday night and stayed with Amanda’s Uncle and Aunt in Springfield. Saturday we picked up Don and Lolane and made our way to Mt. Vernon. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was the 18th Century Fair so there were masses of people. Don and Lolane are good and quick on their feet. Despite being in their 60’s they move well. Don reminds me so much of my Great Grandpa. I get a kick out of both of them. We were limited on time as they had to be to the temple to work later in the afternoon. We did probably the fastest walking tour of Mt. Vernon I can imagine. We zoomed all over the grounds, through the fair, and then back up to their apartment to change and attend the temple.

On a side note, as I went into the endowment room, I noticed the officiator’s name was John Whatcott. I looked at him and asked if he was from Kanosh. He looked a bit surprised at me and said he grew up there. I told him of the Whatcott’s I knew. After the session he asked me to remain in the celestial room so we could visit. We had a great visit. Come to find out he knows Don and Lolane from St. George. Small world. Don knew which session we were on and waited for us to leave the celestial room. He walked us down to the next floor and we parted again. I met Don’s Home Teaching companion, Elder Toronto, while picking up Amanda’s Aunt’s glasses from the temple lost and found. Funny how interlinked the world is, at least in the church.

I have not made mention of it yet, but I am going from contractor status to full associate status at Bank of America. Meaning, I will be an employee of Bank of America and not an at will person filling a seat. Many companies now do the contractor business as they can then hire on employees after they have shown their worth. I must have done well enough for them to offer me employment starting October 1. I am excited. Business has been picking up. I don’t know if it is from the crunch in the market or what. Bank of America definitely stands on higher ground than those feeling the squeeze or sinking under the housing market. One thing is for sure, with this rate cut, we are expecting the next month to be hectic.

My birthday came and went just like every other day or the year. I am back to being congratulated for it being my unbirthday. I received all sorts of e-mails (which will take me a good week to respond to them all), many messages on Facebook, and a couple of cards and gifts. Amanda and I enjoyed a nice big meal at Chili’s for dinner. We joked about it being our triannual beef night. It is birthdays or anniversary that I get to eat a steak. Monday was a 12 oz Ribeye. Mmmm, so good. That is of course not mentioning the Idaho potatos. Amanda got me a shirt, a jump drive, and something else which slips me at the moment. I also received a journal, a few checks, and some other random memorabilia. I honestly don’t feel any different now than I think I did when I was 19. Except the fact my knee was reconstructed in 2004 and doesn’t give me the issues it did at 19. So I guess I feel better than at 19. I have filled out in stature, even added a little padding in the middle, and perhaps a little wiser. Life is good.

My blessings continue to flow despite my inept nature. I continue to be given the little peaceable things of the kingdom from time to time. They make the living and endurance all worth it. Line upon line right? Sometimes I wish it was more page upon page, but alas, I am not the one running the show. Church goes well. I feel spiritually well. Not the muscular behemoth I would like to be spiritually, but I feel strong enough to do what needs to be done and any forseeable adventure.

It was certainly an interesting day here in Richmond. I was asked to work at the National Genealogical Society’s National Conference. I thought it would be strange. After all, aren’t family history geeks supposed to be in the latter end of their life?

It turned out I really enjoyed myself. I worked with Paul Smart and Paul Nauta. Yep, there were three of us! What is more, Paul Smart and I both knew Jennie Smart Nuffer! I suppose that makes us sort of related. He is related to Jennie and I am related to her husband Edwin Nuffer.

It was a pretty eventful day. There were little seminars and lessons going all day. I helped all the random people that would wander to our booth. What is a sad disclosure, not one of those people were able to stump me with any question. I had my own questions in which I asked of Paul & Paul but I knew every answer to every person who asked me one! To be honest, there were a few questions that came to me after I had already asked the question myself, so I did know those answers as well.

I have to admit, FamilySearch is going to be very impressive in what is to come. Right now it has its purposes for what I use it for, but Ancestry.com holds most of my time in researching outside the Mountain West. It appears much of that will be changing this fall onwards. They announced they are going to redo the site, they are going to make available over 80 BILLION names, and to top it off, they are teaming up with other organizations to literally collect the world’s family history. They are going to move mountains! They are going to place the entire Granite Mountain Vault online. It will be indexed and even images made available. FamilySearch even went out and helped create a new type of scanner in order to do the scanning at 5 times the speed it takes now. I believe Ancestry.com will come to a point where they will have come to regret cutting the ties that bound them to FamilySearch. After all, FamilySearch will provide the same records eventually for free.

I volunteered at the FamilySearch Indexing website a few nights ago. I have done about 300 names so far in the indexing. I do have to admit I have too much to do in my own family history to be devoting that much time to the indexing. I have journals to type, other leads to follow up, and some more cleaning up to do. The work never ends. I find it hard not to laugh out loud when someone says their family history is all done. Right, just like mowing the lawn once means you will never have to do it again.

As if this was not enough, there is more to come! I really enjoyed my day working in the FamilySearch booth. I went to lunch with Paul and it was a good visit. I am thinking about taking a job that would take me down the genealogical researcher path. He took my information and said he would let me know if he come across something out here I would be interested in. I certainly hope he does remember me.

In other news, I go to teach the family history class again tomorrow. I have to admit, this class has done more in their week this week than any other class I have had. I received probably a dozen e-mails with questions about family history this week from my class. I am honored, but more thrilled that they are actually doing something. Good for them. I truly hope the Lord will bless them for it. On a bittersweet note, I have been called to the Elder’s Quorum Presidency. Which means I will probably be released from the Family History Consultant position and Family History Worker. I suppose we will have to wait and see. I really had hoped I would never serve in a Presidency again. Hey, at least I am not President right?

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Here is another update in the long goal to load all my photos up onto the blog. I have loaded my maximum for the month of May already but am happy to report I am about 90% done. Then I can spend time writing and commenting about other things rather than the latest updates in photos.

My last update relating to photos dealt with the Nuffer family. My ancestor from the Nuffer family married a Wanner introducing a new name for the line. Here is the information on the Wanner family.

It is a sad note that four of my great grandmother’s siblings all lived to be adults but died for a variety of reasons. Two from flu, one from blood poisoning, one as a missionary in New Zealand.

For those who did not notice, I added a couple of new albums. So now I will take an opportunity to explain the Nuffer family.

My mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s maiden name was Nuffer. That is how I tie in. There are alternate spellings. The other main spelling is Neuffer, which some of the family has changed it back to (despite the family changing it to Nuffer, even the German line). My 3rd Great Grandfather was married 4 different times. So here we go.

Regina Friederike Nuffer married John George Wanner in 1898. But before that, she was married to Jacob Scheibel in 1889. He was from Kolb, Saratov, Russia. He ran off and we don’t know what ever became of him. They did have a child named Alma Katherine Scheibel who would go on to marry Charles Daniel Naef and have 11 children together. She lived in Downey, Bannock, Idaho raised her family there and is buried there.